Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Received this release about a party for the premiere of John Cameron Mitchell's new film Shortbus. CanCon note: one of the stars of the movie is Sook-Yin Lee, host of Definitely Not the Opera on CBC radio, who will be at this event.

QUEER LOUNGE PRESENTS'SHORTBUS' PREMIERE PARTY & CONCERT EXTRAVAGANZAAT PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE ON September 10th - OPEN TO PUBLIC

Hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as "ground zero for the activity surrounding the [gay] films" at international film festivals, Queer Lounge will present an over-the-top extravaganza celebrating the North American premiere of "Shortbus", the highly acclaimed and controversial new film from John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and THINKFilm.

The evening of debauchery will feature performances by John Cameron Mitchell, Shortbus star and CBC radio host Sook-Yin Lee, Gentleman Reg, Bitch & The Exciting Conclusions, Wau Wau Sisters, Kids on TV, Scott Matthew, Kids on TV and others to be announced. The party is open to the public. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the non-profit Queer Lounge.

For the first time-ever, Queer Lounge will bring its distinctive mix of star-studded nightlife, networking, and advocacy to Toronto from September 9th - September 11th. TIFF has sanctioned Queer Lounge as a "TIFF Extra," the first organization ever to be recognized with this distinction. More at http://www.queerlounge.org/news/.

My friend and I went through our festival planning today, so I'm aiming for the following films this year:

Alatriste

Borat

The Bothersome Man

Bugmaster

Cashback

Coeurs

Confetti

Copying Beethoven

Everything's Gone Green

Exiled

The Fountain

Griffin and Phoenix

Hana

Hula Girls

Indigenes

Jade Warrior

The Making of a Bollywood Blockbuster

Manufactured Landscapes

Office Tigers

Pan's Labrynth

Paris, je t'aime

The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (no, it's not what you think)

Renaissance

The Silence

Starter for Ten

I actually dispensed with any system (genre, director, actor, country, etc.) and just picked whatever sounded personally interesting. We'll see how many I actually get once the draw takes place at the end of the week.

Kathleen, on her blog The Volunteer Kat (http://volunteerkat.blogspot.com/), is documenting her experiences volunteering at this year's festival. One interesting thing on her blog is that apparently, for the first time, the festival is going to prohibit cameras inside the theatres, including during the Q&A sessions, probably to try to cut down on possible piracy.

In case you wondering how to fill out an order form, consider an example where you want to see the film L'Annulaire on one of the days of the festival. Note this is an example from a previous year. The order form looks as follows:

First, write the number of tickets you want in the box labeled "1st" next to the name of the film. In this example, we want 2 tickets. This will represent your first choice for this timeslot.

Next, highlight the name of the film with a yellow highlighter (you will have received one if you picked up a programme book, otherwise supply your own). Note the colour MUST be yellow. Do NOT highlight the barcode.

Next, find a film around the same time that will be your backup choice if your first choice is already full when they get around to processing your order form. Note this step is optional. If you do not specify a backup film and your first choice is full, you will receive a coupon which you can redeem at a later date for another film at the festival.

In this example, Battle in Heaven will be the backup choice. Next to your backup film, write the number of tickets you want in the box labeled "2nd". In this example we still want 2 tickets.

Next, highlight the name of the backup film with a green highlighter (you will have received one if you picked up a programme book, otherwise supply your own). Note the colour MUST be green. Do NOT highlight the barcode.

Your form should look as follows:

Repeat this process until you run out of coupons. For example, if you ordered a 10-coupon package, and you wanted 2 tickets for each film, you would select 5 1st choice films (5 films x 2 tickets = 10 coupons) and optionally, 5 2nd choice backups.

Note you must use a separate order form for each set of coupons you purchased. For example, if you bought a 10-coupon package and a 30-coupon package, you would need two order forms; in one form you'd pick 10 movies, and in the other form you'd pick 30. Do NOT attempt to pick movies for multiple sets of coupons on a single order form, as the festival will not process it.

Once you have finished picking your films and filling out the order forms, ensure you fill out the "Ticket Order Form" information at the bottom of page 3 of the Pass and Coupon Order Book. Especially important, don't forget to write the pass or coupon book #; this number can be found on your Pick Up and Drop Off Vouchers.

Once you have filled out that information, place the completed Pass and Coupon Order Book in one of the envelopes you received when you picked up your order forms. You should have received one envelope per set of coupons. Do NOT attempt to place multiple Pass and Coupon Order Books in a single envelope, as the festival will not process it.

Place the Drop Off voucher that has the same coupon book # you wrote on page 3 of the order book in the window at the top of the envelope. Make sure the front of the Drop Off voucher is visible in the window.

On the front of your envelope, write the total number of tickets you are requesting in the order book. Write your contact information on the front of the envelope. This is important, because last year, the festival sent out notifications once your order was processed, letting you know how many of your movies you got tickets for.

Do NOT seal the envelope; leave the flap open or tuck it in, but do not seal it.

Complete the above process for each envelope/order book you received. Once you are finished, bring all the envelopes (each containing an order book and its associated Drop Off voucher) to the Festival Box Office at College Park before 1:00 PM on Friday, September 1. The festival staff will then place your completed forms in a box to await the start of order processing.

Make sure you keep your Pick Up vouchers; you will need them to retrieve your completed orders on Monday, September 4th.

One thing to note when selecting films; make sure you leave enough time to get from one theatre to the other. Running times are approximate, films may start late, or Q&A sessions after the films may run long. Some of the theatres are a fair distance away from one another; consult my film festival map at

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

I picked up my order form this morning at the Festival Box Office. The wait in line was approximately 40 minutes. I imagine it will continue to be busy today around lunch and after work.

In the morning, there were two lines. The main line was outside, in the courtyard behind College Park. This line was for people who had programme book and envelope vouchers. The line inside College Park at the box office itself seemed to be for people purchasing programme books and things like that.

However, some people had vouchers that actually required them to line up inside at the box office. You should check with a festival volunteer before committing yourself to a specific line if you are unsure. Some of the volunteers were even unsure at times, but hopefully they've worked out those bugs by now.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Roots posted this comment the other day on events that they'll be having at their Bloor Street store during the festival:

Hey at Roots we're planning on having lots of events during the festival at our store at 100 Bloor St West in Toronto. Hello! magazine and CTV's Etalk Daily will be doing a photo lounge and AOL/Moviefone will be doing filming for their Unscripted series. Tons of hot stars to see... also on September 7th at 11am we're planning a concert with a big name band open to the public on Bloor St. If you check out www.roots.com in early Sept we'll release all the details!

Tuesday, August 29 marks the beginning of the advanced ticket selection for those who bought passes (where films are not pre-selected by the festival) or coupons. If you ordered coupons a while ago, you should have already received in the mail your Envelope vouchers, your Drop Off vouchers, and your Pick Up vouchers. If you purchased a 2006 Programme Book, you should have also received a voucher for that.

Starting Tuesday at 9:00 AM, you can go to the Festival Box Office at College Park, 444 Yonge Street, south entrance, Market Level. Note this location is not the same as last year; also note that there is no advantage to arriving right at 9:00 AM, for reasons explained later in this post.

When you go to the Festival Box Office, take all of your Envelope vouchers. You exchange each voucher for an envelope plus a Pass and Coupon Ticket Order Form. If you have more than one voucher, then you get multiple envelopes and forms. Also pick up a free Official Film Schedule listing the screening times of all the films. If you have a Programme Book voucher, you can also exchange it for the full-colour, comprehensive festival guide.

Fill out each order form you received with your selections. You can consult last year's post on how to fill out the order form:

However, the process may have changed this year, so read all the instructions on the form and follow them rather than the above post if they differ from one another. I'll post an updated entry once I've seen what this year's forms look like.

Once you have filled out the forms, place each one in a separate envelope, and include a Drop Off voucher with each. Do not seal the envelope, and do not include any Pick Up vouchers; you need to keep those ones yourself for later.

Take your completed forms back to the Festival Box Office and drop them off no later than 1:00 PM on Friday, September 1, to be eligible for the advanced ticket draw. Any orders received after this date will not be in the advanced ticket draw. You can drop off the forms any time from August 29 to September 1 at 1:00 PM.

The festival staff then spends the weekend processing orders. You can then line up at the Festival Box Office any time from Monday, September 4 at 10:00 AM onwards to pick up your completed forms and see what movies you received. Take your Pick Up vouchers with you to exchange for your processed order forms.

Most people line up on the Monday to pick up their completed packages (and there is usually a substantial line). If you didn't receive all your desired films, you can usually line up in a different line that day to select alternative movies with any remaining coupons you have.

For anyone who did not order advanced tickets, general ticketing opens to the public on Wednesday, September 6, online, by phone, at the Festival Box Office and the Year-round Box Office.

Now, why don't you need to line up first thing on August 29th to get your order form? Because the festival has a lottery system to determine from what point they start processing orders. Therefore, there is no inherent benefit to getting your order forms returned early.

Here's how the system works:

1. The festival starts with a whole bunch of empty boxes, numbered sequentially.

2. As people turn in their order forms, the forms are placed in the lowest numbered box that has room:

Here we can see completed forms being placed in box #1.

3. Once a box is full, forms are placed in the next available box, in this case box #2:

4. And once that box is full, they move to the next one, in this case box #3:

5. Once all forms have been received by the deadline, the festival has a bunch of filled, numbered boxes:

6. They then randomly draw a number from 1 to whatever the highest number box they have, in this example, 80. The number drawn represents the box number from which the festival starts processing orders. Assume for this example that 33 was the number drawn:

The festival starts processing the forms in box #33. Once they have processed all the forms in the box, they move to the next one in numerical order, in this case #34. They continue until they reach the highest numbered box, here #80. Once they finish with that box, they loop back around to box #1 and start moving upwards, until they reach the box one number before the one drawn (#32).

At this point, all advanced orders have been processed and will be ready for pickup. In this example, if you were lucky enough to be in box #33, you would've gotten all your picks. But if you were in box #32, you probably won't get a lot of your picks. In that case, for each pick that wasn't fulfilled you will receive a coupon which you can use to select a film from whatever still has tickets available. You can use these coupons any time during the duration of the festival.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

If you missed participating in the advanced ordering process this year by buying a pass or coupons, you can still get tickets to films at the festival.

As of August 26, you can purchase tickets to gala showings online, by phone, at the year-round box office, or at the festival box office. If galas are listed as being "off sale", check back at a later date to see if additional tickets have been released.

As of September 6, you can buy tickets to all films at the festival, subject to availability, online, by phone, at the year-round box office, or at the festival box office. Tickets can be purchased by these methods up until 7:00 PM the day before the showing.

If a movie has not been sold out by the day of the showing, then remaining tickets will go on sale that day online, by phone, at the year-round box office, at the festival box office, and at the theatre showing the film.

If the film is sold out, you can still join the rush line outside the theatre the day of the screening. If ticket holders don't show up on time the festival releases the tickets for sale to people in the rush line. Also, sometimes people who already have tickets or extra tickets may come by the rush line to sell them. I've done this before when I've screwed up in scheduling movies and I can't make the showing, or some people may just be too tired to see another film and want to get rid of their tickets, or some people may have friends who can't show up and they need to get rid of their extras.

Consult the official festival web site for details on locations and times where you can purchase tickets. Once again, note that except for galas, you can't purchase tickets until September 6. And since Visa is the exclusive credit card of the festival, if you're not paying by cash, you'll need a Visa card.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

As of 11:47 PM, August 26, it appears that gala tickets are still available for:

The White Planet

Never Say Goodbye

Bonneville

Mon Meilleur Ami

Black Book

The Banquet

After the Wedding

For the remaining gala presentations, the online ordering site has notes saying the performances are sold out, but to "continue to check back as new inventory may become available". That would seem to imply they may release additional blocks of tickets at a later date, although they don't specify when that might occur. That could be days later, or even after the festival actually starts.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

A reminder that tomorrow (Friday, August 25) is the last day on which you can buy passes and coupons for this year's festival. Passes generally allow you to see pre-selected films, while coupons allow you to participate in the advanced ticket lottery, so you can choose films before the festival starts.

If you've never been to the festival before, the Festival Experience pass or the Globetrotter pass is a good way to see some films. You get three films with the Festival Experience pass, or six films with the Globetrotter pass, that the festival staff have pre-selected. If you work during the day, both passes have versions where all the films selected for you start after 6:00 PM on weekdays, or anytime on the weekends.

After this Friday, your options for attending the festival are single gala tickets, which go on sale Saturday, August 26, or buying tickets during the festival itself, starting on Wednesday, September 6 until the end of the festival.

Because of the popularity of the galas, expect most of the single gala tickets to get bought up on Friday, especially for the more popular films.

The festival released the complete list of films for this year's event. According to the press release, there are a total of 352 films, from 61 different countries. 91% of these films are either international or North American premieres.

Note this list does not include descriptions of the films. However, the TIFF Reviews.com site (http://www.tiffreviews.com/2006) has compiled a list of all the films with a brief description. Click the "Film List" link at the top of the page.

Passes and coupon books are still available if you want to participate in advanced ticket selection, rather than buying tickets once the festival starts. As of this posting, you can still purchase:

Family Gala pass ($50): You get two adult and two child tickets to one family gala film at Roy Thomson Hall.

Family pass ($75): You get two adult and two child tickets to two out of the six family screenings.

Daytime pass ($192, $157.50 for students and seniors): You get 25 tickets to redeem during the advanced ticket selection process or during the festival itself for any film that starts before 5:01 PM.

Festival pass ($498, $431 for students and seniors): You get 50 tickets to redeem during the advanced ticket selection process or during the festival itself for any film.

10-ticket coupon book ($154.50): You get 10 tickets to redeem during the advanced ticket selection process or during the festival itself for any film.

Festival Experience pass ($67): You get a ticket to three films selected by festival programmers, with each film on a weekend or after 6:00 PM on weekdays.

Daytime Festival Experience pass ($62): Same as the Festival Experience pass, except each film is on a weekend or before 6:00 PM on weekdays.

Globetrotter pass ($110): You get a ticket to six films from around the world selected by festival programmers, with each film on a weekend or after 6:00 PM on weekdays.

Daytime Globtrotter pass ($97): Same as the Globetrotter pass, except each film is on a weekend or before 6:00 PM on weekdays.

Midnight Madness pass ($153, $100 for students and seniors): You get one ticket to each Midnight Madness screening.

Wavelengths pass ($65): You get one ticket to each Wavelengths screening.

Ticket for the Elgin closing night gala/party ($296): You get a ticket to the final premiere at the Elgin theatre and a ticket to the "everything included" Closing Night party.

Ticket for the Roy Thomson Hall closing night gala/party ($296): You get a ticket to the final premiere at Roy Thomson Hall and a ticket to the "everything included" Closing Night party.

Out of town package ($100): If you live outside of Toronto, the festival has a service to allow you to mail in your advanced ticket selections (if you have also bought passes or coupons). I've never used this myself, but it seems that you pay $100 on top of any passes or coupons that must be bought separately.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

While most people go to the festival to see the films, there's always a substantial number who turn out to see the celebrities. So how do you catch a glimpse of your favourite star?

Most of the big commercial films with big stars have their festival premiere at a gala performance at Roy Thomson Hall. If you can get a ticket, great, but the galas are usually popular, so you may not be able to. But you can always line up outside by the red carpet and watch the stars arrive.

Each movie at the festival shows twice. Cast and crew will sometimes attend the first screening (and more rarely the second), and may do a Q&A after the movie. Once again, if you can't get a ticket, you can try waiting outside the theatre to see them arrive. Note that stars don't always attend, and if they do they usually arrive just before the movie starts, so they won't be lingering on the red carpet.

Stars are also more likely to show up for movies which they have a substantial attachment to, i.e. films they have directed, produced, or written, or those which were more a labour-of-love.

Many stars stay at hotels close to the festival. Inevitably word spreads if a star is spotted at one of them. Pretty much any upscale hotel in downtown Toronto will have someone of note staying there.

MuchMusic (at Queen and John Streets) sometimes has events during the festival. Last year Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom showed up for an event promoting Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown, and Queen Street was blocked off to accommodate the crowds.

Tuesday, August 22: The complete list of films for this year's festival will be available at the official site (http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/) after 1:00 PM. Note that this list may not contain descriptions of the films; often descriptions are not published until after the official programme guide is released (this year that will occur on August 29).

Saturday, August 26: Gala single tickets go on sale online (http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest), by phone ((416) 968-FILM), and at the year-round Box Office (Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West, main floor, north entrance, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM). Because of the popularity of the galas, expect that all three options will be extremely busy that day.

Tuesday, August 29: For those who pre-purchased a programme book, coupons, or passes, they can be picked up from the Festival Box Office (College Park, 444 Yonge Street, Market Level, south entrance). Note this location is different from last year. Order forms for those with coupons may be dropped off starting from this date; forms must be dropped off at the Festival Box Office.

Friday, September 1: All coupon order forms must be submitted by 1:00 PM at the Festival Box Office in order to be eligible for the advanced draw. After the deadline, the festival will randomly draw a box number and starting processing orders.

Monday, September 4: All advanced ticket orders can be picked up from the Festival Box Office.

Wednesday, September 6: Advanced tickets go on sale for the general public at the year-round Box Office. If you didn't purchase a pass or coupons, this is the first day you will be able to buy tickets for the festival (excepting Gala tickets which went on sale August 26, but which are most likely sold out by this date).

Thursday, September 7: The festival begins.

The important thing to note with these dates is that certain events occur only at certain box offices. There are two box offices for the festival; the year-round Box Office at the Manulife Centre on Bloor Street, and the Festival Box Office at College Park on Yonge at College. Make sure you know which box office you need to go to before heading out, especially if you are lining up to purchase tickets.

When purchasing tickets, expect everything to be busy, especially when things initially go on-sale. The festival website usually crashes or times out under the heavy load. The phone lines may also prove to be busy, so you may have to dial repeatedly until you get through. Also expect long line-ups at the box offices. Last year there were complaints by people in line at the box office that a lot of tickets were snapped up by people purchasing on the internet, but given the usual problems on the website, that isn't always a sure bet. Visit the festival website to keep up-to-date on any changes or additional options for purchasing.